Hillcrest COVID-19 Call Center
Hillcrest HealthCare System has an established COVID-19 Call Center. Operators are available Monday - Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer patient questions, provide support and connect them to a provider. The Call Center line is 918-574-0920.

(918) 592-0999

Blog

HMR Program Brings Great Success for Oklahoma Woman

Tammy Anderson’s husband started experiencing heart problems in the winter of 2018. During this time, her blood pressure became alarmingly high.

“Whenever my husband went in for his heart cath, his cardiologist, Dr. Arash Karnama, checked my blood pressure and after seeing the numbers, told me he wanted to see me the following week,” said Anderson.

At that time, Anderson’s blood pressure was 189/120 and she weighed 291 pounds.

“Dr. Karnama told me my blood pressure could be controlled with medication, but since I was only 53 he wanted me to lose 100 pounds,” said... Read More »

Family History Leads Claremore Man to Oklahoma Heart Institute

Vernon Anderson’s father passed away at age 54 after suffering a heart attack. Upon turning 54, Anderson wanted to take the preventative steps to make sure he didn’t end up in the same situation as his father.

“I went in to see my cardiologist, Dr. Arash Karnama, and had an EKG done,” said Anderson. “The results came back fine, but I insisted that I have a stress test done because of my family history. They didn’t think it was necessary but they were respectful of my wish to have one done.”

The day after his stress test, Anderson received a call from Dr. Karnama’s office. He... Read More »

Oklahoma Heart Institutes Celebrates 30 Years of Innovation

March 2019 marked 30 years since the beginning of Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI). In celebration of this milestone, Dr. Wayne Leimbach, one of the founders of OHI and current medical director, shared what technologies he has been most impressed with during this time and what’s he’s most excited to see in the future at OHI.

“When it comes to technology, there are many things that stand out to me,” said Leimbach. “Top of mind would be the interruption of heart attacks (myocardial infarction) with emergency opening of blocked blood vessels.”

Transcatheter aortic valve... Read More »

Care Received at Oklahoma Heart Institute Gives Man New Lease on Life

Pete Dubois was out riding his bicycle in the spring of 2016, one of his favorite hobbies, when he started feeling bad.

“I felt so awful I ended up going to the hospital,” said Dubois. “Over the next few months, I had several stents put in and then underwent an open heart procedure.”

In the years following, Dubois had numerous heart catheterizations and still experienced chest pain. He was constantly tired and unable to do any of the things he enjoyed doing.

“I was a cross-country runner, a bicyclist and a mountain climber and heart disease took all of those things... Read More »

Former Hillcrest Employee Gives Back to Community in Unique Way

Karen Langston started working for Hillcrest HealthCare System in the 1970s.

“I worked as a unit secretary for a few years, left for a while then came back in 1977 and started the radiologist technologist program that was offered at the time,” said Langston.

Upon graduating from the program in 1980, Langston began working in the Catheterization lab at Hillcrest Medical Center. When Oklahoma Heart Institute opened in 2009 with a new cath lab, she moved over there where she worked until her retirement in December 2018.

“There were only five employees working in the cath... Read More »

Minimally Invasive Surgery Brings Success for Arkansas Woman

During the summer of 2018, Rebecca Ring’s cardiologist determined that she needed to have open heart surgery to have a valve replaced. Due to Ring’s religious beliefs, surgeons were reluctant to do the surgery because she does not accept blood transfusions.

“The surgeon who initially agreed to do the surgery wanted to do traditional open heart surgery where they make the big incision down the sternum to replace one of my valves,” said Ring. “The thought of this was overwhelming since it was just to replace one valve, especially since there was mention of also replacing my aorta... Read More »

Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Leads to Quick Recovery for Bartlesville Woman

When Leota Schlesier started experiencing symptoms that were out of the ordinary, she knew she needed to visit her primary care physician.

“My heart was racing, I had chest pains and shortness of breath,” said Schlesier. “I visited my primary care physician and he had me wear a heart monitor for 30 days. It didn’t show anything significant but he knew there was something going on because of my symptoms.”

Due to the fact that Schlesier had also had episodes of feeling faint, her primary care physician ordered a carotid artery ultrasound. “When I was leaving work on a few... Read More »

Endocrinology Care at Oklahoma Heart Institute

Oklahoma Heart Institute provides comprehensive endocrinology care. By focusing on the needs of the patients, endocrinologists can develop individualized treatment plans. Dr. Cristin Bruns, endocrinologist at Oklahoma Heart Institute, is telling us more about the types of diseases that fall under the umbrella of endocrinology care and how she approaches diabetes care.

“As an endocrinologist, I treat individuals with hormonal disorders such as diabetes mellitus and bone diseases, as well as disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and pituitary and reproductive glands,” said... Read More »

Minimally Invasive Procedure Great Success for Bixby Woman

For most of her life, Susan Apker has had cardiovascular issues.

“When I was three years old, I had open heart surgery to repair a ventricular septal defect (VSD),” said Apker. “I had a complete heart block during that surgery and have had pacemakers since, so I am consistently seeing a cardiologist.”

Apker has been seeing Dr. Wayne Leimbach, medical director at Oklahoma Heart Institute, for more than 10 years. “When I first started seeing Dr. Leimbach, I was in the beginning stages of heart failure,” said Apker. “In the spring of 2018, he referred me to Dr. Allen Cheng,... Read More »

The Increase of Heart Attacks in Younger People

Heart attacks in younger people are becoming increasingly more common, especially in women. This could likely be due to the increase in the prevalence of the risks factor for heart attack and stroke in young adults, according to Wayne Leimbach, M.D., medical director of Oklahoma Heart Institute.

“This was predicted to happen more than 15 years ago due to the obesity epidemic in our country,” Leimbach said.

Smoking also contributes to the upsurge because there has been an increase in the amount of women who smoke. Additionally, there has been a rise in consumption of fast food... Read More »